Soil temperature profiles provide an indication of frost depth during the winter which can have an impact on spring snowmelt runoff rates. This map displays soil temperature data from sensors at depths of 2, 4, 8, 20, and 40 inches. Data are queried from the NCRFC database late morning each day. Knowing the temperature of the soil is important for many activities including agriculture, horticulture, construction, and even grave digging. It is also important for hydrologists because in many situations a frozen soil limits infiltration of water thereby generating more runoff from rain and snowmelt than soil that is not frozen.